Processing Chamber With Multiple Plasma Units

ABSTRACT

Provided is a processing chamber configured to contain a semiconductor substrate in a processing region of the chamber. The processing chamber includes a remote plasma unit and a direct plasma unit, wherein one of the remote plasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a remote plasma and the other of the remote plasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a direct plasma. The combination of a remote plasma unit and a direct plasma unit is used to remove, etch, clean, or treat residue on a substrate from previous processing and/or from native oxide formation. The combination of a remote plasma unit and direct plasma unit is used to deposit thin films on a substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.17/101,074, filed on Nov. 23, 2020, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/941,148, filed Nov. 27, 2019, and to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/960,293, filed Jan. 13, 2020, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to semiconductorprocesses and apparatus. More particularly, embodiments relate toprocessing apparatus and processes that include both remote and directplasma units.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuits are made possible by processes which producepatterned material layers on a substrate. Producing patterned materialon a substrate requires controlled methods for removal of exposedmaterial. Chemical etching is used for a variety of purposes, includingtransferring a pattern in photoresist into underlying layers, thinninglayers, or thinning lateral dimensions of features already present onthe surface. Sometimes it is necessary to have an etch process thatetches one material faster than another facilitating, for example, apattern transfer process.

Incoming substrates often have residue on them from previous processing,from native oxide formation on a metal, and etch residue from via holeformation. To improve process performance of the metal fill, e.g. lowline resistance, high yield, and high reliability, any residue and/ornative oxide must be removed. Remote plasma and direct plasma, alone,are incapable of removing the residue and native oxide inside thestructure effectively. Remote plasma radicals do not reach the structuretrench well due to its lifetime, and direct plasma does not clear theside walls of a structure due to the directionality.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved processes andapparatus for etching (cleaning) materials and structures onsemiconductor substrates.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments of the disclosure are directed to a processingchamber. In one or more embodiments, a processing chamber comprises: alid and at least one sidewall defining an internal volume; a remoteplasma unit in the internal volume; a direct plasma unit in the internalvolume; and at least one electrode, wherein one of the remote plasmaunit or the direct plasma unit generates a remote plasma and the otherof the remote plasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a directplasma.

Additional embodiments of the disclosure are directed to a processingmethod. In one or more embodiments, a processing method comprises:exposing a substrate to a remote plasma and exposing a substrate to adirect plasma.

Further embodiments of the disclosure are directed to a non-transitorycomputer readable medium. In one or more embodiments, a non-transitorycomputer readable medium including instructions, that, when executed bya controller of a processing chamber, causes the processing chamber toperform operations of: exposing a substrate to a remote plasma; andexposing the substrate to a direct plasma.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1A illustrates a process flow diagram for a method according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 1B illustrates a process flow diagram for a method according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates schematic diagram of a processing tool according toone or more embodiments; and

FIG. 3 illustrates schematic diagram of a processing tool according toone or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing several exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, it isto be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the details ofconstruction or process steps set forth in the following description.The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orbeing carried out in various ways.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms“substrate” and “wafer” are used interchangeably, both referring to asurface, or portion of a surface, upon which a process acts. It willalso be understood by those skilled in the art that reference to asubstrate can also refer to only a portion of the substrate, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. Additionally, reference todepositing on a substrate can mean both a bare substrate and a substratewith one or more films or features deposited or formed thereon.

A “substrate” as used herein, refers to any substrate or materialsurface formed on a substrate upon which film processing is performedduring a fabrication process. For example, a substrate surface on whichprocessing can be performed include materials such as silicon, siliconoxide, silicon nitride, strained silicon, silicon on insulator (SOI),carbon doped silicon oxides, amorphous silicon, doped silicon,germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire, and any other materialssuch as metals, metal nitrides, metal alloys, and other conductivematerials, depending on the application. Substrates include, withoutlimitation, semiconductor wafers. Substrates may be exposed to apretreatment process to polish, etch, reduce, oxidize, hydroxylate,anneal, UV cure, e-beam cure and/or bake the substrate surface. Inaddition to film processing directly on the surface of the substrateitself, in the present disclosure, any of the film processing stepsdisclosed may also be performed on an underlayer formed on the substrateas disclosed in more detail below, and the term “substrate surface” isintended to include such underlayer as the context indicates. Thus forexample, where a film/layer or partial film/layer has been depositedonto a substrate surface, the exposed surface of the newly depositedfilm/layer becomes the substrate surface.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to processing apparatus andmethods relating to semiconductor processing chambers. In one or moreembodiments, a processing chamber is configured to contain asemiconductor substrate in a processing region of the chamber. In one ormore embodiments, the processing chamber includes a remote plasma unitand a direct plasma unit, wherein one of the remote plasma unit or thedirect plasma unit generates a remote plasma and the other of the remoteplasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a direct plasma. In someembodiments, the combination of a remote plasma unit and a direct plasmaunit is used to remove, treat, residue on a substrate from previousprocessing and/or from native oxide formation.

FIG. 1A illustrates a process flow diagram of a method 100 according toone or more embodiments. At operation 102, a substrate is optionallyplaced into a processing chamber. At operation 104, a substrate isexposed to a remote plasma. At operation 106, the substrate is exposedto a direct plasma. In one or more embodiments, exposing the substrateto the remote plasma and exposing the substrate to a direct plasmaoccurs sequentially. In some embodiments, the substrate is first exposedto the remote plasma and is thereafter is exposed to the direct plasma.In one or more embodiments, exposing the substrate to the remote plasmaand exposing the substrate to a direct plasma occurs simultaneously.

FIG. 1B illustrates a process flow diagram of a method 100 according toone or more embodiments. At operation 102, a substrate is optionallyplaced into a processing chamber. At operation 106, a substrate isexposed to a direct plasma. At operation 104, the substrate is exposedto a remote plasma. In one or more embodiments, exposing the substrateto the direct plasma and exposing the substrate to a remote plasmaoccurs sequentially. In some embodiments, the substrate is first exposedto the direct plasma and is thereafter exposed to the remote plasma. Inone or more embodiments, exposing the substrate to the direct plasma andexposing the substrate to a remote plasma occurs simultaneously.

In one or more embodiments, exposing the substrate to the remote plasmaand exposing the substrate to a direct plasma treats or cleans thesubstrate. In one or more embodiments, the substrate comprises at leastone feature. The at least one feature may comprise any feature known tothe skilled artisan, including, but not limited to a trench, a via, or apeak. In embodiments where exposing the substrate to a remote plasma anda direct plasma treats or cleans the substrate, the treating or cleaningremoves one or more of a residue, e.g. from prior processing, and/or anative oxide. In embodiments where exposing the substrate to a directplasma and a remote plasma treats or cleans the substrate, the treatingor cleaning removes one or more of a residue, e.g. from priorprocessing, and/or a native oxide.

In one or more embodiments, the method further comprises exposing thesubstrate to at least one precursor to deposit a film on the substratevis a vis a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process ora plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition process (PEALD). Anyappropriate precursor known to the skill artisan may be used to form afilm on the substrate.

FIG. 2 illustrates a processing tool 200 according to one or moreembodiments. In one or more embodiments, the processing tool 200comprising a processing chamber 201. The processing chamber comprises alid 202 and at least one side wall 204. In one or more embodiments, thelid 202 and the at least one sidewall 204 define an internal volume 205of the processing chamber 201. In one or more embodiments, theprocessing tool 200 comprises a remote plasma unit 206 within theinternal volume 205 of the processing chamber 201. In one or moreembodiments, a direct plasma unit 208 is within the internal volume 205of the processing chamber 201. In one or more embodiments, one of theremote plasma unit 206 generates a remote plasma and the direct plasmaunit 208 generates a direct plasma. In one or more embodiments, thegeneration of the remote plasma and the generation of the direct plasmaoccurs sequentially. In some embodiments, the generation of the remoteplasma occurs first, and the generation of the direct plasma occursthereafter. In other embodiments, the generation of the direct plasmaoccurs first and the generation of the remote plasma occurs thereafter.In one or more embodiments, the generation of the remote plasma and thegeneration of the direct plasma occurs simultaneously.

In one or more embodiments, an ion filter 212 separates the remoteplasma unit 206 and the direct plasma unit 208. In one or moreembodiments, the ion filter 212 is used to filter ions from the plasmaeffluents during transit from the remote plasma unit 206 to thesubstrate processing region 215. In one or more embodiments, the ionfilter 212 functions to reduce or eliminate ionically charged speciestraveling from the remote plasma unit 206 to the substrate 230. In oneor more embodiments, uncharged neutral and radical species may passthrough at least one aperture 218 in the ion filter 212 to react at thesubstrate 230. It should be noted that complete elimination of ionicallycharged species in the reaction region 215 surrounding the substrate 230is not always the desired goal. In one or more embodiments, ionicspecies are required to reach the substrate 230 in order to perform etchand/or deposition processes. In these instances, the ion filter 212helps control the concentration of ionic species in the reaction region215 at a level that assists the treat/clean and/or deposition process.

In one or more embodiments, the processing tool comprises at least oneelectrode within the processing chamber. In one or more embodiments, theat least one electrode is located within the internal volume 205 of theprocessing chamber 201. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, atleast one electrode 210 is positioned in electrical communication withthe remote plasma unit 206.

In one or more embodiments, the processing chamber 201 comprises apedestal 214. In one or more embodiments, the pedestal 214 is configuredto support a semiconductor substrate 230 in a processing region 215. Inone or more embodiments, the pedestal 214 may have a heat exchangechannel (not illustrated) through which a heat exchange fluid flows tocontrol the temperature of the substrate 230. In one or moreembodiments, the substrate 230 temperature can be cooled or heated tomaintain relatively low temperatures, such as from about −20° C. toabout 400 C. In one or more embodiments, the heat exchange fluidcomprises one or more of ethylene glycol or water. In other embodiments,the pedestal 214 is resistively heated in order to achieve relativelyhigh temperatures, such as from about 100° C. to about 1100° C., or fromabout 200° C. to about 750° C., through the use of an embedded resistiveheater element (not illustrated). In one or more embodiments, thepedestal 214 is configured to rotate. In one or more embodiments, thepedestal 214 comprises an electrode 216 within the interior of thepedestal 214, and the pedestal 214 is powered by RF generator 250 andmatched by RF match 240. In one or more embodiments, the pedestal 214 iscomprised of a metallic material and is, itself, an electrode.

In one or more embodiments, at least one power source, e.g. RFgenerator, 250 is electrically connected via a first RF match 240 and asecond RF match 245 to the processing chamber 201.

In one or more embodiments, two RF generators 250 are electricallyconnected to the processing chamber 201. In such embodiments, a first RFgenerator 250 is electrically connected to a pedestal electrode 216, anda second RF generator 255 is electrically connected to a top electrode210.

In one or more embodiments, a plasma is generated using a radiofrequency (RF) powered remote plasma unit 206 and/or direct plasma unit208. In one or more embodiments, alternating current (AC) power isrectified and switched to provide current to a RF amplifier. The RFamplifier operates at a reference frequency (13.56 MHz, for example),drives current through an output-matching network, and then through apower measurement circuit to the output of the power supply. The outputmatch is usually designed to be connected a generator that is optimizedto drive particular impedance, such as, for example, 50 ohms, in orderto have the same characteristic impedance as the coaxial cables commonlyused in the industry. Power flows through the matched cable sections, ismeasured by the match controller, and is transformed through the loadmatch. The load match is usually a motorized automatic tuner, so theload match operation incurs a predetermined time delay before the systemis properly configured. After passing through the load match, power isthen channeled into a plasma excitation circuit that drives twoelectrodes in an evacuated processing chamber. A processing gas isintroduced into the evacuated processing chamber, and when driven by thecircuit, plasma is generated. Since the matching network or the loadmatch is motorized, the response time from the matching network istypically on the order of one second or more.

In some embodiments, the plasma power is in a range of from about 10 Wto about 1000 W, including from about 200 W to about 600 W. In someembodiments, the plasma power is less than or equal to about 1000 W, orless than or equal to about 6500 W.

The plasma frequency may be any suitable frequency. In some embodiments,the plasma has a frequency in a range of about 200 kHz to 30 MHz. Insome embodiments, the plasma frequency is less than or equal to about 20MHz, less than or equal to about 10 MHz, less than or equal to about 5MHz, less than or equal to about 1000 kHz, or less than or equal toabout 500 kHz. In some embodiments, the plasma frequency is greater thanor equal to about 210 kHz, greater than or equal to about 250 kHz,greater than or equal to about 600 kHz, greater than or equal to about750 MHz, greater than or equal to about 1200 kHz, greater than or equalto about 2 MHz, greater than or equal to about 4 MHz, greater than orequal to about 7 MHz, greater than or equal to about 12 MHz, greaterthan or equal to about 15 MHz, or greater than or equal to about 25 MHz.In one or more embodiments, the plasma has a frequency of about 13.56MHz, or about 350 kHz, or about 400 kHz, or about 27 MHz, or about 40MHz, or about 60 MHz.

In one or more embodiments, a controller 220 may be provided and coupledto various components of the processing tool 200 to control theoperation thereof. The controller 220 can be a single controller thatcontrols the entire processing tool 200, or multiple controllers thatcontrol individual portions of the processing tool 200. For example, theprocessing tool 200 may include separate controllers for each of theprocessing chamber 202, remote plasma unit 206, direct plasma unit 208,and power source 250.

In some embodiments, the processing chamber 201 further comprises acontroller 220. In one or more embodiments, the controller 220 controlsthe ignition of the plasma by the remote plasma unit 206 and/or thedirect plasma unit 208 within the processing chamber 201.

In some embodiments, the controller 220 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 222, a memory 224, inputs/outputs (I/O) 226, and supportcircuits 228. The controller 220 may control the processing tool 200directly, or via computers (or controllers) associated with particularprocess chamber and/or support system components.

The controller 220 may be one of any form of general-purpose computerprocessor that can be used in an industrial setting for controllingvarious chambers and sub-processors. The memory 224 or computer readablemedium of the controller 220 may be one or more of readily availablememory such as non-transitory memory (e.g. random access memory (RAM)),read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, optical storage media(e.g., compact disc or digital video disc), flash drive, or any otherform of digital storage, local or remote. The memory 224 can retain aninstruction set that is operable by the processor (CPU 222) to controlparameters and components of the processing tool 200.

The support circuits 228 are coupled to the CPU 222 for supporting theprocessor in a conventional manner. These circuits include cache, powersupplies, clock circuits, input/output circuitry and subsystems, and thelike. One or more processes may be stored in the memory 224 as softwareroutine that, when executed or invoked by the processor, causes theprocessor to control the operation of the processing tool 200 orindividual processing units (e.g. remote plasma unit 206 and directplasma unit 208) in the manner described herein. The software routinemay also be stored and/or executed by a second CPU (not shown) that isremotely located from the hardware being controlled by the CPU 222.

Some or all of the processes and methods of the present disclosure mayalso be performed in hardware. As such, the process may be implementedin software and executed using a computer system, in hardware as, e.g.,an application specific integrated circuit or other type of hardwareimplementation, or as a combination of software and hardware. Thesoftware routine, when executed by the processor, transforms the generalpurpose computer into a specific purpose computer (controller) thatcontrols the chamber operation such that the processes are performed.

In some embodiments, the controller 220 has one or more configurationsto execute individual processes or sub-processes to perform the method.The controller 220 can be connected to and configured to operateintermediate components to perform the functions of the methods. Forexample, the controller 220 can be connected to and configured tocontrol one or more of the remote plasma unit 206, the direct plasmaunit 208, the pedestal 214, the at least one electrode, or othercomponents.

FIG. 3 illustrates a processing tool 300 according to one or moreembodiments. In one or more embodiments, the processing tool 300comprises a processing chamber 301. The processing chamber comprises alid 302 and at least one side wall 304. In one or more embodiments, thelid 302 and the at least one sidewall 304 define an internal volume 305of the processing chamber 301. In one or more embodiments, theprocessing tool 300 comprises a remote plasma unit 306 within theinternal volume 305 of the processing chamber 301. In one or moreembodiments, a direct plasma unit 308 is within the internal volume 305of the processing chamber 301. In one or more embodiments, one of theremote plasma unit 306 generates a remote plasma and the direct plasmaunit 308 generates a direct plasma. In one or more embodiments, thegeneration of the remote plasma and the generation of the direct plasmaoccurs sequentially. In some embodiments, the generation of the remoteplasma occurs first, and the generation of the direct plasma occursthereafter. In other embodiments, the generation of the direct plasmaoccurs first and the generation of the remote plasma occurs thereafter.In one or more embodiments, the generation of the remote plasma and thegeneration of the direct plasma occur simultaneously.

In one or more embodiments, an ion filter 312 separates the remoteplasma unit 306 and the direct plasma unit 308. In one or moreembodiments, the ion filter 312 is used to filter ions from the plasmaeffluents during transit from the remote plasma unit 306 to thesubstrate processing region 315. In one or more embodiments, the ionfilter 312 functions to reduce or eliminate ionically charged speciestraveling from the remote plasma unit 306 to the substrate 330. In oneor more embodiments, uncharged neutral and radical species may passthrough at least one aperture 318 in the ion filter 312 to react at thesubstrate 330. It should be noted that complete elimination of ionicallycharged species in the reaction region 315 surrounding the substrate 330is not always the desired goal. In one or more embodiments, ionicspecies are required to reach the substrate 330 in order to perform etchand/or deposition processes. In these instances, the ion filter 312helps control the concentration of ionic species in the reaction region315 at a level that assists the treat/clean and/or deposition process.

In one or more embodiments, the ion filter 312 comprises a showerhead.

In one or more embodiments, the processing tool comprises at least oneelectrode within the processing chamber. In one or more embodiments, theat least one electrode is located within the internal volume 305 of theprocessing chamber 301. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, atleast one electrode 316 is positioned in electrical communication withthe pedestal 314.

In one or more embodiments, the processing chamber 301 comprises apedestal 314. In one or more embodiments, the pedestal 314 is configuredto support a semiconductor substrate 330 in a processing region 315. Inone or more embodiments, the pedestal 314 may have a heat exchangechannel (not illustrated) through which a heat exchange fluid flows tocontrol the temperature of the substrate 330. In one or moreembodiments, the substrate 330 temperature can be cooled or heated tomaintain relatively low temperatures, such as from about −20° C. toabout 400° C., or from about 0° C. to about 400 C. In one or moreembodiments, the heat exchange fluid comprises one or more of ethyleneglycol or water. In other embodiments, the pedestal 314 is resistivelyheated in order to achieve relatively high temperatures, such as fromabout 100° C. to about 1100° C., or from about 200° C. to about 750° C.,through the use of an embedded resistive heater element (notillustrated). In one or more embodiments, the pedestal 314 is configuredto rotate. In one or more embodiments, the pedestal 314 comprises anelectrode 316 within the interior of the pedestal 314, and the pedestal314 is powered by RF generator 350 and matched by RF match 340. In oneor more embodiments, the pedestal 314 is comprised of a metallicmaterial and is, itself, an electrode.

In one or more embodiments, at least one power source, e.g. RFgenerator, 350 is electrically connected via an RF match 340 to theprocessing chamber 301.

In one or more embodiments, two RF generators are electrically connectedto the processing chamber 301. In such embodiments, a first RF generator350 is electrically connected to a pedestal electrode 316, and a secondRF generator 355 is electrically connected to an inductively coupledplasma (ICP) coil 370.

In one or more embodiments, a plasma is generated using a radiofrequency (RF) powered remote plasma unit 306 and direct plasma unit308. In one or more embodiments, alternating current (AC) power isrectified and switched to provide current to a RF amplifier. The RFamplifier operates at a reference frequency (13.56 MHz, for example),drives current through an output-matching network, and then through apower measurement circuit to the output of the power supply. The outputmatch is usually designed to be connected a generator that is optimizedto drive particular impedance, such as, for example, 50 ohms, in orderto have the same characteristic impedance as the coaxial cables commonlyused in the industry. Power flows through the matched cable sections, ismeasured by the match controller, and is transformed through the loadmatch. The load match is usually a motorized automatic tuner, so theload match operation incurs a predetermined time delay before the systemis properly configured. After passing through the load match, power isthen channeled into a plasma excitation circuit that drives twoelectrodes in an evacuated processing chamber. A processing gas isintroduced into the evacuated processing chamber, and when driven by thecircuit, plasma is generated. Since the matching network or the loadmatch is motorized, the response time from the matching network istypically on the order of one second or more.

In some embodiments, the plasma power is in a range of about 10 W toabout 1000 W, including from about 200 W to about 600 W. In someembodiments, the plasma power is less than or equal to about 1000 W, orless than or equal to about 6500 W.

The plasma frequency may be any suitable frequency. In some embodiments,the plasma has a frequency in a range of about 200 kHz to 30 MHz. Insome embodiments, the plasma frequency is less than or equal to about 20MHz, less than or equal to about 10 MHz, less than or equal to about 5MHz, less than or equal to about 1000 kHz, or less than or equal toabout 500 kHz. In some embodiments, the plasma frequency is greater thanor equal to about 210 kHz, greater than or equal to about 250 kHz,greater than or equal to about 600 kHz, greater than or equal to about750 MHz, greater than or equal to about 1200 kHz, greater than or equalto about 2 MHz, greater than or equal to about 4 MHz, greater than orequal to about 7 MHz, greater than or equal to about 12 MHz, greaterthan or equal to about 15 MHz, or greater than or equal to about 25 MHz.In one or more embodiments, the plasma has a frequency of about 13.56MHz, or about 350 kHz, or about 400 kHz, or about 27 MHz, or about 40MHz, or about 60 MHz.

In one or more embodiments, a controller 320 may be provided and coupledto various components of the processing tool 300 to control theoperation thereof. The controller 320 can be a single controller thatcontrols the entire processing tool 300, or multiple controllers thatcontrol individual portions of the processing tool 300. For example, theprocessing tool 300 may include separate controllers for each of theprocessing chamber 301, remote plasma unit 306, direct plasma unit 308,and power source 350.

In some embodiments, the processing chamber 301 further comprises acontroller 320. In one or more embodiments, the controller 320 controlsthe ignition of the plasma by the remote plasma unit 306 and/or thedirect plasma unit 308 within the processing chamber 301.

In some embodiments, the controller 320 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 322, a memory 324, inputs/outputs (I/O) 326, and supportcircuits 328. The controller 320 may control the processing tool 300directly, or via computers (or controllers) associated with particularprocess chamber and/or support system components.

The controller 320 may be one of any form of general-purpose computerprocessor that can be used in an industrial setting for controllingvarious chambers and sub-processors. The memory 324 or computer readablemedium of the controller 320 may be one or more of readily availablememory such as non-transitory memory (e.g. random access memory (RAM)),read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, optical storage media(e.g., compact disc or digital video disc), flash drive, or any otherform of digital storage, local or remote. The memory 324 can retain aninstruction set that is operable by the processor (CPU 322) to controlparameters and components of the processing tool 300.

The support circuits 328 are coupled to the CPU 322 for supporting theprocessor in a conventional manner. These circuits include cache, powersupplies, clock circuits, input/output circuitry and subsystems, and thelike. One or more processes may be stored in the memory 324 as softwareroutine that, when executed or invoked by the processor, causes theprocessor to control the operation of the processing tool 300 orindividual processing units (e.g. remote plasma unit 306 and directplasma unit 308) in the manner described herein. The software routinemay also be stored and/or executed by a second CPU (not shown) that isremotely located from the hardware being controlled by the CPU 322.

Some or all of the processes and methods of the present disclosure mayalso be performed in hardware. As such, the process may be implementedin software and executed using a computer system, in hardware as, e.g.,an application specific integrated circuit or other type of hardwareimplementation, or as a combination of software and hardware. Thesoftware routine, when executed by the processor, transforms the generalpurpose computer into a specific purpose computer (controller) thatcontrols the chamber operation such that the processes are performed.

In some embodiments, the controller 320 has one or more configurationsto execute individual processes or sub-processes to perform the method.The controller 320 can be connected to and configured to operateintermediate components to perform the functions of the methods. Forexample, the controller 320 can be connected to and configured tocontrol one or more of the remote plasma unit 306, the direct plasmaunit 308, the pedestal 314, the at least one electrode 316, the ICP coil370, or other components.

One or more embodiments are directed to a non-transitory computerreadable medium including instructions, that, when executed by acontroller of a processing chamber, cause the processing chamber toperform the operations of exposing a substrate to a remote plasma andexposing a substrate to a direct plasma. In one or more embodiments, thenon-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions, that,when executed by the controller of the processing chamber, cause theprocessing chamber to perform the operation of exposing the substrate toat least one precursor to form a film on the substrate.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “certainembodiments,” “one or more embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment ofthe disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as “in one ormore embodiments,” “in certain embodiments,” “in one embodiment” or “inan embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are notnecessarily referring to the same embodiment of the disclosure.Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

Although the disclosure herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand thatthe embodiments described are merely illustrative of the principles andapplications of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madeto the method and apparatus of the present disclosure without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure can include modifications and variations that are within thescope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A processing method comprising: exposing asubstrate to a second plasma that remotely impacts the substrate andexposing the substrate to a first plasma that directly impacts thesubstrate in a processing chamber wherein the first plasma is generatedbetween a pedestal electrode and an ion filter and the second plasma isgenerated between the ion filter and one or more of an ICP coil and atop electrode.
 2. The processing method of claim 1, wherein exposing thesubstrate to the second plasma and to the first plasma occurssequentially.
 3. The processing method of claim 1, wherein exposing thesubstrate to the second plasma and to the first plasma occurssimultaneously.
 4. The processing method of claim 1, wherein exposingthe substrate to the second plasma and to the first plasma cleans ortreats the substrate.
 5. The processing method of claim 1, furthercomprising exposing the substrate to at least one precursor to form afilm on the substrate.
 6. The processing method of claim 1, wherein thesubstrate comprises one or more of a trench, a via, or a peak.
 7. Theprocessing method of claim 16, wherein the substrate comprises one ormore of a residue or a native oxide thereon.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium including instructions, that, when executed bya controller of a processing chamber, causes the processing chamber toperform operations of: exposing a substrate to a second plasma thatremotely impacts the substrate; and exposing the substrate to a firstplasma that directly impacts the substrate.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, further including instructionsthat, when executed by a controller of a processing chamber causes theprocessing chamber to perform the operations of: exposing the substrateto at least one precursor to form a film on the substrate.